Can-seaming machine.



H. H. HOOD.

CAN'SEAMING MACHINE. 7 APPLICATION mm SEPT. 10. m4.

Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

I3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H'. H. H000.

CAN SEAMING MACHINE. APPLICATIOII'FILED SEPT. i0. is,

Patented A r, 17,191?

13 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

t M I,

H. H. HOOD.

CAN summe mcumef APPLICAHO FILED SEPT. I0, 1914 Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

' I3 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

H. H. HOOD.

CAN SEAMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10,. 19M;

v Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

I3 SHEETS--SHEET 5.

[\ 772062257 hi7 JFOOCY H. H. HOOD.

CAN SEAMING M'ACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10 1914.

Patented Apr. 17,1917;

l3 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

H; H. HOOD.

CAN SEAMING MACHINEL. APPLICATION FILED SEI'T- l0 I914.

Patented Apr. 17, 1917 I3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I Ink ""l'imll H. H. HOOD. CAN SEAMING mcmua APPLICATION FILED SEPT- I0. L9H.

Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

H.H. HOOD.

CAN SEAMING MACHINE. Amlcnlou FILED SEPT. 10. m4.

Patented Apr. 17,1917.

la suns-sun a.

H. H. HOOD cm SEAMING MACHINE.

APPLICATIONIILED SEPT. I0. 1914.

'Iatented Apr. 17, 1917.

I3 SHEETS-SHEET ll.

H. H. HOOD.

cm SEAMING MACHINE.

APPLJCATIOII FILED SEPT-10, 19H.

Patented Apr. 17,1917.

l3 suns-sash 12.v

. I 2 I W Ugd/ I H; H. HOOD.

cm sumo mcums.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- IO. I914.

Patented Apr. 17,1917.

I3 SHEETS-SHEET I 3.

r I I I 1| i I M I I l V///////////I U a To allf'whomit noon, or;onrceo-,I I*Lnino1s; Assxenoa mo in. r. nnnmrsmr;

e it known, that I, H Bur Hoo a citizenof the UnitedStates', resldlng atlthe j 1 city ofChic'ago, in the countyxof Cook and State .of .Illinois have invented certain new i u and useful Improvements in Can-seaming Machines, of which the tollowing is a specification.

My f vention relates to improvementsin can-seaming machines and refers to a type, of constructionfwhich, while adaptable for .many-difl'erent uses, is particularly well fit- "ted for seaming orcrimping the heads or bodies; to provide a machinefin which the cans are progressively presented to the seam-1 caps on gleanswhich'have been already filled with the material or productto be preserved therein.

Amon'ggj'theisalient objectsof the invention are,,to provide a type of machine which is designed to perform a succession of crimp,-, I :ing or seaming operations upon :the 'can 1 ofF1g 3;-

- i i ,10 is '1. detail section taken on the on the line w ingdevices ofthe machine and automatically delivered therefrom when finished to provicle a' construction in which a plurality of cans may be operated upon simultaneously by the seaming devices; toprovidea ma chine in which a separate crimping head is employed for i each suc,.ces sii;"e* difierent crimpingoperation; to provide an .impro fied constructionfland novel t pe of mechanism for engagmgthe erimping rolls or seaming I devices with the cans as the latter are pre-= sented to the machine; tapro'vide a machine which iscapable of ready. adjustment to different sizes of cans; to provide a machine of the class described which is adapted to receive the filled eans'in upright position and perform the seaming operations on said cans "while the-latter are -maintained in upright position; to provide-a construction of the class referred to in which. there is no neces- 1 sity for rotating the cans on their supports or changing "their angular positions wh le .they [are passing through the machine; to a provide a machine in which the general dis i rectio'n oftravel of the cans while Passing "5U operation require a minimum of attention, and which is capable'of belng operated at a very high speed; to provide a machlne through the m'achi-ne,,--is maintained constant; to "provideqa machine of theclass referred to which shallbe automatlc in its which shall be cheap'and economical-in construction, and, in general, to provide an improved machine of theclassreferred to." ;The no'velfeatures. of my invention Wlll' cm snnrme nacirnm.

-which-- Figure 1 is an end elevation of the com-.

line I track shown in scription there 0 f is considered in connection aecompanylng drawings, 1n

P e. q in r a F g. 2 1 s agide'elevationof Fig. .1; Flg. 3 1s a songitudinalsection taken on ithe i ee eer Figs. 1 and 5;

Fig; 4 is a portionzof an enlarged section taken on thelne 4 of Fig.2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan taken on theline $5 of Fig.

Fig. 6 is resection taken on the line Fig. 7 isa section taken on the line Tof.

Fig.2; 1 Fig. 8 1s a detail view ED116015 the cam roller mountings; Fig.9 1s asection t Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

more readily understood when the do i ken entheline e 9.

Fig. 12 "is J 1 fragmentary section taken on the line 1 2,12 of/Fig. .11; j u

' Fig.- 13 is-a31 under side view of thecam Fig. 12; 1 Fig. 14 is. a section taken 147-44 of Fig. 1 1;. 1

Fig. 15 is a sectional plan view showing the relation of the crimping heads, and taken on the line 15-15 of Fig. {3;

( the 1....

liiis an enlargement of one of" the erimpin mechanisms shown in Fig-15;

' Fig. 1- is a section taken on the line 17 of Fig. v 2 i jclevating mechanism;

of Fig. 4;. w r

Fig. 22 is a fragmentary detail elevation of a portion of the can-elevator;

Fig. 23 is a plan viewzof Fig. 22

Fig. 21 isa section taken on m ans 21 r .95 g. 18' isasection taken on-the line Fig. 24His' anelevation'; of a .port i on of" one of the cri: npin'g' heads Fig. 25 is a section; taken on the line 25-25 of Fig.1. 5;

Fig. 261 is a perspective view of portions 1 of the ca g i es Fig. 27 isa fr agmentary detail sectidn of cap shownin Fig. 27 after the the upper corner of the can and cap prior to crimping;

Fig. 28 is a similar view of the can and reliminary crimping operation has been peri ermed; and Fig. 29 shows the completed seam. .As' a'preferred embodiment of my invention I have illustrated in the 'drawings,'a

machine which is designed to crim or scam the caps or headsupon the tops 0- ordinary cylindrical cans which have been preyiously charged with fruit or other products to be preserved therein. In order to avoid spilling of the contents, it is obviously essential topresent the unsealed cans tothe crimping machine in uprightposition and to maintain set of crimping the cans in the said upright position without vibration'or irregular movements while the seaming on the can head.

Although the machine is capable of oper-. ating. upon cans having variously shaped heads and forms of seams, the type of seam whichl have selected to illustrate the operation is shown diagrammaticallyin Figs. 27, 28-and 29. Fig. 27 is a fragmentary view showing in sectlon a corner ofthe filled'can 3l and the head or cap 32 loosely resting thereon as the filled can enters the machine. Fig-28 shows the seam partially. formed by the first set of crimping'rolls on the first crimping head, andFig. 29 shows the completed seam on thesealedcan after the latter has been operated upon by the second rolls. The general scheme of operation 0 the machine may be briefly stated as follows: The filled cans, with the capsv loosely resting thereon, are propelled through the machine by means of a cont-in.-. uoiisly traveling 'conveyer chain which passes beneath a set of four crimping heads arranged in line with and directly over the center of the said chain. .The crimping heads are arranged in pairs, the first two and the second two heads being precisely alike in the operations which they perform upon the; cans, pairs of. which are successively engaged by the successive pairs of crimping heads. The crimping heads arecarried by a cross-head to which is imparted a recipro'catory motion of .the same speed. as that of thechain; thus, as the .cans pass through they machine, the first two cans are automatically engaged with the first pairof crimping heads which perform the ini-- tial crimping operation on the. heads of the said two cans while the latter and the crosshead are traveling in the same direction 'towardthe delivery. point ofthe machine. Aftcr the ihitial crimping operation has been completed on thetwo cans they are auto- -1nat1ca'lly disengaged from the first two crimping heads on the cross-head which at i the same time reverses its'movement and-returnsto the starting point where thenext operationsare being performed from the pair of cans on the chain are automatically engaged by and the first two cans are also engaged by a second pair of crimping heads which perform the final crimping operation as the cross-head is again reciprocated with the cans in the direction of travel of the chain,

the completedcans thenbeing delivered from the machine. It should be understood that,

although I-have chosen asfanillustration a machine equipped with similar crimping heads arranged in pairs, it is obvious that the same principle could be utilized in machine having a single crimping head or cnehavin several banks of similar crimping heads d1 erently arranged for performing different successive crimplngoperations on a large number of cans simultaneously.

the first pair of crimping heads,

. Describing. the machine in' detail, in Fig.

1 33 represents a heavy cast iron base which carries all of the working parts'of. the machine. The main driving shaft 34, which is suitably journaled in the base 33, is driven by a belt passing around the pulley .35, the

latter being adapted to be engaged with the shaft 34 by means of a suitable friction clutch 36 operated by a handle 37 in any The hand-wheel usual approved manner. p 37 which is securely keyed to the frontend of the shaft 34, is useful when it is desired to turn the shaft 34 by hand in order to make necessary adjustments of the various parts; The conveyerchain 38, which propels the. cans through ,the machine, is drivenby a sprocket wheel 39 keyed to a shaft 40 suitshown in Figs. 2, 1'7- and 18. \This sha is driven at a reduced irateof speed from a shaft 42 by means of a spur pinion 43secured to the said shaft 42 and a large spurgear 44 pinned to the shaft 40. .The shaft 42- is similarly driven by means of a'large'spur gear 45 lifeyed to the said shaft 42 and by a pinion 46 meshing therewith and formed-integfal with a sprocket wheel 47 looselyjoiirnaled upon .the shaft 40 and driven by a sprocket chain 1 48 which passes around. a sprocket wheel 49 securely keyed to the main power shaft '34. The conveyor chain 38is furnished with a succession of suitably spaced apart dogs 50 which engage the 1 wer side edges of the cans and" propel tiem ably journaled in abox-shaped castingig il, 40'

through the machine- .As will hereinafter appear, for mechanical reasons it is desirable to arrange the conveyer chain ascompactly as possible, and therefore I prefer to support and guide same in its passage'throughthemachine by means of a1fixed guide or track-bar 51 which is suitably-mounted in the frame of the machine. In this rectan gular' guide-bar 51 there are'milled upper and lower T'-shaped guide slots" 52 and 53, the openings of which are ofsuitable width to admit the conveyer dogs 50. On its return delivery .end of the machine, the

chain is suitably guided into the lower slot 53 of the track-bar by means of an idler rocket 54. rotatably mounted upon the zliafttfl 'It will Ubseen that this sprocket a wheellifl is at-its periphery provided with. a

. pair ofsuitably shaped notches 55 which admit theronve er-dogs50 as the chain runs over thesproc et. In Fig. 3 there are shown asuccession of cans passin through the machine from left to right. :slide along upon the top of. the track-bar 51 hese cans may or other support," and are suitably guided prior to their entrance into the machine so as to keep them in proper alinement. It is understood thatlthe conveyer chain 38 extends'back as far as necessary intothe fillin room where the, empty cans are charged =Wlth the desired product; The to s of the cans, before they enter the mac ine, are covered and held down in position by a horifi zontal protective plate 56, a portion of which supported at the desired height on either side of the line of cans. As the cansare pro- Ipell'ed from under the end of the protective plate56, they areforced into proper alinement with the center of the machineby -means of a pair of guides 57 see Fig. 5, and ;while still forced into alinement by these guides, the cap flan are engaged by a pair ,of opposed longitu inaliqi resser members 58 see Fig 5- and 25, which may be suitably grooved out at the upper ends of their inner opposed faces to conform with'the shape of the end {of the capfflanges. These members 58 are pivoted upon a pair of longitudinal pins 59 seeFig. suitably supported in a pair of members 60 see Fi 5 and 25 secured to'the frame-of the machine, and are forcedv inwardly by a plurality of spiral,compres sion springs 61 seated in cylindrical bores .formed in the inner faces of the said members 60. These grooved presser members 58,

if desired, may be suitably adjusted by means of set screws 62. The object of the pressermembers 58, which extend almost to the centerofthe machine, is to hold the caps securely upon the tops of the cans'while the latterrare being elevated into enga ement with the crimping devices by mec anism which will now be described.

Referring to Figs. 3,4 and 5, it will seen that the cans in their passage through the machine are supported by a longitudinalelevator member 63, which is a'casting, the-base of which is suitably planed oif to reciprocate longitudinally within slight ooves fprmed in the upper face of a lift lock 64. The elevatormember 63 is formed withfour upstanding bosses65 which are suitably bored out from their upper ends to receive cushion blocks 66. These cushion blocks 66 are supported on a plurality of 'sprln 67,, shown in Fig. 3, and are prevente from rotating by means of transdevices.

verse pins 68 passir .g diametrically through a collarin the bosses 65, and which also pass through the centers of the cushion I blocks 66, the holes being suitably slotted to ermit a slight vertical movement of the 70 sai cushion blocks The cushion blocks 66; are formed with opposed longitudinal flanges 69, upon'tho upper surface of which are screwed pairs of adjustable guides 70 p which maintain the cans in proper alinement .guide plates 70 are notched out at their inner lower corners so -2 as to admit the cirwhile at the same time vertical movement of the cans with reference-to the cushion blocks is prevented. The tops of the cushion blocks 66 beneath the cans are furnished with wear-platesfll securely fixed thereto, these Wear-plates being knurled or ribbed longitudinally in order to prevent rotation of the cans, while permitting longitudinal movement of the latter over said wearplates. The lift-block 64 makes an up-anddown reciprocatory movement for each pair of cans that passes through the machine,

longitudinally along the'center line and at a each end of the liftblock 64 1 provide a pair of downwardly projecting bosses 71 (see bottom of Fig. 3),ivithin which are secured a pair of vertical plungers 72 adapted to slide in guides-73 formed integral with a fixed portionof the frame of the machine. These guides 7 3 ali: long enough toprevent looseness-of the pin lger members and insure a direct upward motion of the lift-blockM cumferential flanges formed bythe crimping of thebottoms r f the cans. This permits the cans to be pushed along in the guides,

and is operated as follows: Spaced apart 5 without wabbling. A reciprocatory movement is imparted to these plungers by the'- oscillatory lever 74 (see Fig. 21) which is pivoted upon a longitudinal shaft 7 5 secured in a pair of lugs 76 dependin from the upper portion of the frame 0 the machine. This lever 74 is forr led with a pair of spaced apart arms 7 7 which extend below and are connected .to the lower ends of the plan er 72 by means of pi irs of pivoted links. 8. In the outer end 79 of the lever 74 there is secured a fixed piv)t pin 80 upon whichis pivoted a split clamping block 81, which latter is bored out to receive and grip the vertical actuating :-od 82. The upper end of this rod 82 is sec ired in a somewhat simithat-at ,either end of the main frame 33 of the machine there is bolted a hollow vertical projecting operating shaft 108. This shaft 108, as seen in Fig. 7, is connected to a vertical shaft 109 by a somewhat similar universal joint connection designated as a whole 110. The universal joints 1 07 and 110 .and the shaft 108 are so organized as to column 85 within which is adapted to slide p rmit of a considerable extension or cona' heavy. rod 86. The ends of these rods 86 are turned ofi slightly to. receive the bridge piece 87 which is bored. outaccordingly at either end and rests upon the shoulder thus formed by the reduction in cross-section of the upper ends ofthe rods 86. The upper ends" of the bores of the bridge piece 87 are covered with suitable caps 88 to prevent entrancefzof dirt or other foreign matter.. The rods86 are bored out to admit freely the upper ends of a pair of upstanding screws 89 which are threaded into-the lower ends of the said rods 86. These screws. 89

. are provided toward their lower ends with integral collars 90 supported uponcircular journal plates 91- b'olted tothe lower ends of the columns 85,'and within which the lower unthreaded ends of the screws 89 are adapt-- ed to rotate; To the lower projectingl ends of the screws 89 there are pinned, or'otherwise suitably secured, a pair of bevel gears 92 which are adapted to mesh with a pair of bevel gears 93"keyed to the longitudinal shaft 94. Thelongitudinal shaft 94. is suitably journaled in the frame of the machine and is furnished with a squared end, 95, permitting the'application of a wrench or otherdevice when it-is desired to actuate the screws 89in order to raise or lower the variations inthe sizes of the cans to be operated upon, as will be obvious from the description following later.

Referring to Figs. '6 and 7 ,it will be seen that the bridge. piece 87 forms in effect a casingfor a large spur cam gear 96 which latter is carried by a shaft 97 adapted to rotate in journal bearings 98 and. 99 on either side of said casing. Referring to Fig. 7 it will be seen'that the inner face of said cas- 111g is formed with a horizontal longitu-' dinally extendingset of guide grooves 100 v and101 within which there is adapted to slide a cross-head casting 102-. Referring to Fig. 4, it will be seen that on the main shaft 34 of the machine there is keyed a bevel gear 103 which cooperates with a similar bevel gear- 104 keyedto the lower end of a vertical shaft 105 adapted to rotate in a sleeve bearing 106 formed in the front of the frame of the machine. Thev upper end of this journal bearing 106 carries a housin which forms a protective cover for a universal joint bearing 107 connecting the upper end of the shaft 105 with an upwardly traction of the ,distance between the centers of the said joints 107 and 110. This may be taken care of by using any one of several types of construction well known to those skilled in the art. The shaft 109 previously referred to is journaled in a bearing sleeve 111 secured in the cross-head casting 102,

and the upper end thereof is secured in a bevel gear 112 which meshes with a bevel gear 113 keyedto a short transverse horir) zontal shaft 114 adapted to rotate in the projecting bearing 115 secured to the top of 'said'cross-head casting 102. The right-hand end of the shaft 114- (see Fig. 7) is connected to the inner end ofa transverse horizontal shaft-116 by means of a connecting shaft 117 and a pair of universal joint connections .through the train of mechanism just described, rotation of shaft 34 results in a corresponding rotation of the horizontal shaft 116. This shaft'116 is journaled'in a pair of bearings 120 and 121 secured to the top of the bridge piece 87, and on said shaft between its bearings there is fkeyed a spur pinion 122 meshing with the large cam gear 96 previously referred to. On the inside of the cam gear 96 there is formed a continuous cam groove 123', and on theoutside of the said cam gear there is formed a somewhat similar cam groove'124. The function of the cam groove 123 is to reciprocate the cross-head 102, and the cam groove 124 is made use of to cause a raising or lowering of the cansto engage them with the crimpingcdevices. i a

eferring to Fig. '7- and back to Fig. 20', it will be seen that on the back cover 125 of thecam gear casing there aresecured a pair of. guide blocks 126 and 127 within which are adapted to slide a air of rods 128 which gI'Qove 124. The cam groove 124 is so organized as to impart aslight upward or downward movement to the cam roll 132 at suitable intervalsin-the cycle of operations. This upward. or downward movesame in speed and direction asthe travel of ment. of the cam roll thus results in a corresponding upward or downward movement of the cans by virtue of-the train of mecha nism previously described. The'amount of this vertical reciprocatory movement of the cans is not extensive but simply sufiicient to movethe'cans into or out of the field of the crimping devices. I

Referring to Fig. 9, it'will' be seen that the inner cam groove. 123 is enga ed by a cam roller 133 rotatably mounte upon a transverse horizontal pin 134 rigidly secured in the'cross-head casting 102. As previously referred-to, this cross-head casting 102 is adapted to sllde within the horizontal ides 100 and 101 formed longitudinally 1n the face of the bridge piece 87, and thus each rotation of-thecam gear 96 causes a horizontal reciprocation" of the cross-head 102. The shape and'dimensions of the cam groove 123 are such as to impart to the cross-head 102 a traveling movement the the cans when the latter are engaged by the crimping devices carried by the said crosshead'102. Referring to Figs, 22 and 23,

which illustrate in elevation and plan the right-hand end of the elevator member 63, it will be seen that on the side ofthe said elevator member there is secured a small bracket block 135 which is bored out vertically to receive a sleeve 136 constituting a vertical guide or bearing for a relatively stifi' rod 137 depending from the reciprocatory cross-head 102. Thus there; is imparted to the elevator "member 63 the same reciprocatory horizontal movement as is imparted-to the cross-head102. It should of course be understood that as the cross-head moves forward in the direction of travel of the cans, the latter are elevated into engagevto ment with the seaming cle'vices'ft'iar'rie{1 by the cross-head, and while in such "engagement thepcans, cross-head and elevator block move forward as a unit at the same speed as 1 that of the normal travel of the cans while under the influence of the conveyor chain 3% Wheii the seaming operations have been performed and while the cans, cross-head and elevator member are still moving together as a unit, the last named membermoves down anddraws thercans away from the seaming devices and again into engage ment with the dogs of the conveyer chain. It should be understood that the points of the conveyer dogs are beveled slightly in order to compensate for slight irregularities in the downward movements, of the cans after being operated upon.

Describing the seaming devices carried by .the cross-head 102 and referring toFi 7 :f-and 9, it'will be seen that the vertical s a-ft 51109, previously referred to, is formed with an integral spur gear portion 138 which meshes with a corresponding spur gear 139.

This gear 139 me shes with a similar '1',

141, saidears driving the two secon ary crimping eads ior performing the 'final seaming operation, and also drives the two initial crimping-heads through the gears 143 and 144.

The crimping leads forperform'ing the initial crimping operations'will-b'e desig-- nated as A and 1% and the heads-for perf forming the finalseaming operation will be designated C and I). Describing the crimpingfrolls associated with the heads A and B,-these rolls 145 are rotatably mounted upon vertical pins 146 (see Figs. '16 and 24) which pass through, and are eccentrically 1 secured inshort shafts 147 by means of nuts. 148 screwed to the top of the said pins-146.

These short shafts 147 are adapted to rotate within vertical boles'formed in. the opposed ends of'the spinners 149; These spinners 1 19 are formed with upwardly extending integral bearing sleeves 150 which are adapted to rotate 'lpon the fixed shafts 151 depending from bosses 152 formed in the upper portion of t: is cross-head 102. These shafts 151 aresuitabl keyedin these bosses 152 and are provide with integral collars 153, by means of which they are securely drawnup into plaze by means of clamping nuts 154. Downwa rd movement of the spinners on the shafts 151 is prevented b the presence of. the chuck disks 155 whic are screwed, and keyed to the lower ends of the said shafts 151 These chuck disks 155 are,

on their lower faces, turned into the proper shape to engage the tops of the can caps and are knurled circumferentially at theirouter edges in older to prevent rotation of the can caps with reference to the chucks while the seaming operations are being performed. In order to prevent the can caps from rising from the tops of the cans, which might be caused by accidental mal-formation of the can boe ies or by an over supply of the contents of the filled cans, I insert a spring-pressed plunger 156 in the lower end of the shafts 151 with the seaming heads A and B. These plungers 156 extend down toward the tops of the cans as far as practicable so as to engagethe latter and hold the caps in place as soon as the cans are elevated and leave the influence of the spring-pressed longitudinal guide members 58.

Referring back to the crimping roll drive, the upper ends of the sleeves 150 are keyed into the gears 144. 143, 139 and 141, previouslyreferred to v(see Figs. 3 and 9), which are all meshed together and are driven by thegear 138. It is thus obvious that as the shaft 108 rotates, which it does continuously, the crimping rolls associated with each head execute a planetary movement around the axis .thereof continuously and uniformly. 'The means for moving the I crimping rolls radially into engagement with the can seam flanges in order to crimp thes'ame will now be described.

. 'Referiing to Figs. 7 and 14, it will be noticed that the bevel gear wheel 112, previously referred to as being continuously driven by the shaft ,109, is provided on its circumference with 'spur. gear teeth 157 which mesh with teeth on a spur gear 158. The spur gear 158 and a lower spur gear 159 are both formed integrally with'a hub 160 which rotates upon a fixed shaft 161 (see Fig. 11),-and thus the rotation of the shaft 109'causes a corresponding rotation of the spur gear 159. The latter meshes with a spur gear 162 whichis adapted to rotate freely upon a fixed stationary shaft 163. Upon the fixed shaft 163 and at the' lower end thereof there is also rotatably' mounted a somewhat similar spur gear 164, the .two

gears 162 and 164 being spaced apart by a rotatable collar or hub 165. This collar .165 is formed with a pair of opposed'radial -integral arms 166 and 167, and on the latter arm there is mounted upon .a radial axis a freely revoluble bevel gear .168. This bevel gear168 is adapted to mesh with bevell gear teeth 169 formed on the lower edge ofthe' spur gear 162, and with bevel gear teeth 170- formed on the upper edge of'the spur gear 164. If the member 165b'e nowconsidered to be stationary, rotation of the gear 162 will cause a correspondin .rctatiqa; Of the;

gear 164 by reason of the bevelgear'connections just described. The spur t'e'ethof the ear 164 which, as shown, is mounted in a fiwer horizontal plane than. the principal gears 138, 139, ,etc., are adapted .to mesh with a narrow-faced spur gear 171 which is adapted to rotate freely uponthe sleeve 150' of the crimping head B. This latterv gear in.

.turn drives similar gears 172, 173 and174 mounted on the rotating sleeves 150 of the heads A, C andD. The gears 139, 141,143

and 144, previously referred to, are all of the same. size and consequently rotate at precisely the same speed; which is alsotrue in the case of the gears 171, 172, 17 3 and 174. The latter gears run in the same direction as the former set of gears, and the number of with the can seamby a train of mechanism now to be described.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 7, it will be noticed that the hubs of the gears 17.1, etc., are formed with opposed axially parallel depending bosses 175. Within these bosses 175 there are rotatably mounted pairs of ro tatable studs 176, these studs being formed with integral square heads 177 at their lower ends and prevented from falling out by springs 178 interposed between the upper sides of the said gears 171, etc and washers 17 9 fixed to the tops of the said studs 176. As indicated in plan in Fig. 16,

-these.square heads 177 are bored out transversely to receive wrist rods 180, the ends of which are threaded and 'adjustably secured within the said heads 17 7 by means of nuts 181. are enlargedand are'pivotally connected to arms 182 integrallv formed'with the collars 183, thelatter being rigidly secured to the eccentric shafts 147 by taper pins 184.

.Upon examination of Fig, 16, while at the same time bearing in mind that the studs 176 are carried byfthe thin gears 171, etc.,

while the members 149 are mounted upon .and" rotate with the gears 139, etc., it is obvious that a relative angular displacement vof-the gears 171, etc., with'reference to the gears-13,9, etc., will cause a relative'displacement of the studs 17 6 aroundv the center of the members 149. Obviously, this will cause the members-147 torotate slightly on their vertical axes and will result in a movement. of the crimping roll pins l46 towar d;or.

from the centers of their orbits. Thus, it is manifest that .to engage the crimping rolls with the can it is simply necessary to rotate the member 165 slightly atthe proper moment in the cycleof movements. The proper angular displacement of the member 165 is effected by the following mechanism.

Referring to Figs. 3, 7 and 11, it will be noticed that to the center of the inner face of the bridge piece 87 there is bolted a cam block 185, the latter being provided on its 'under side with a cam groove 186,- indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 11 and shown more clearly in reverse plan in Fig. 13. Referring to Figs. 12 and 13, it will be seen that the ram groove 186 is engaged by aicam roller 187 which is rotatably mounted upon a pin 188 carried by the end of a swinging arm 189 pivotally mounted in a boss 190 formed integral "with the upper side of the reciprocatory cross-head 102.

see also Fig. 14). It is obvious that as the cross-head 102 is reciprocated in its hori- -zontal guides, the link 191 will also be The lower end ofthe pin 188 is enlarged somewhat to form a The outer ends of the said rods 180' inwardly or .outwardl to or from the cen-' so. shaped as tocause a gradual movement j of the crimping rolls toward .the centers,

caused to reciprocate transversely by means oove and cam connections just described of'the cam s will result in a corresponding displacement of the member 165 around its axis. and'cause the seaming rolls to move ters of their orbits. he ca n'groove 186' is this movement commencing as the Cansare elevated into engagement with the chucks and being discontinued somewhat abrulptly' when the ems-head approaches its efte .hand' limit of reciprocation. Thus, while the cans are being elevated or pulled down into or out of engagement with the chucks,

ment of the cans.

. differentl the crimpin rolls are widely separated and do not inter are with the said verticalmove- The seaming heads 0 and;D 'are sligiitly constructed from the hen. A

and B. n the-first place, it isunderstood that the shape of the rolls is such that the' form of the seam when completed is as shown in Fig. 29. In the second place, since a the com leted seam: shown in Fig.29 has its parts fo (led into intimate engagement with each other, some provision must be made for permitting the rolls to spring apart slightly when the bump caused by the longitudinal scam in the cylindrical portion of the can body pames under the rolls. is taken care of bypivoting the rolls reslliently'in the spinner members of the heads (land D for performing the final seaming operation. Referrin .to Figs. 3, 14 and 15, it will be seenthat t e eccentric shafts 147 of the crimping heads 0 and D are-not mounted directly in the arms of the spinner members 149, but within rectangular blocks 193 loosely mounted u on pivots 194 extending through said. locks 193 and securely riveted within the. sides 195' of radial open-ended slots196 formed in the ends of the said spinner members 149. The eccentric shafts 147 of these two heads C- and D are" made somewhat smaller than those of the heads A and "B and are notched out, 'as shown at 197 in Fig. 3, so as to avoid interference with the pivots 194. The ends of the slots just referred to are closed by small bridge lates 198 bolted to the ends of the arms 0 the spinner members 149. On their lower inner faces these bridge plates 198 are milled oil to receive'the resilient soft rubber cushion pieces 199 which normally .force the lower ends of the blocks 193. to-

ward the centers of theseaming heads I) and D: It is obvious that when one of the crimping rolls encounters an insurmountable obstruction, such as a bump caused by the. longitudinal seam of, the can body, the

rubber will yield sufiiciently to permlt the roll to swin slightly on its pivot and thus relieve the a normal pressure. 1

- It should be and :rstood that my invention.

is capable of many modifications without do parting from the spirit of the invention, and therefore I do not wish to be "limited to the details of construction shown, except as.

specified in the appended claims.

I claim I 1. The combination of a continuously traveling conveyei adapted to engage and propel a series 01 objects to. .be operated upon, a reciprocaiory carrier, devices car,- riedby said. carrier.- for operating upon said objects, means for advancing said carrier for a limited distance at the same speed and .in the same direction as the said objects are traveling and for afterward retracting said carrier, means for engaging said objects with the operating devices while the carrier is travehnf synchronously with said objects, means or driving said operating devices,

power-transmitting means adapted to actuate said operating devices continuously, and

controlling means. for said operating 2. In a can sealing machine, the combination of a continuously traveling conveyer. adapted to engage and propela succession of cans to be operated upon, a reciprocatory carrier, a seaming head on said carrier, seaming devices mounted on said seaming head and'adapted to travel around the axis of said head in an orbit corres onding with y the seam to be formed, means or advancing said carrier. for a limited distance at the same speed and in the same direction as the can bodies are caused to travel by said convcyer and for afterward retracting said carrier, means for engaging said can bodies witli'the seaming c'evices, and driving means for sald seaming h ead.

3. In a can seaming machine, the combi-' 'nationof a continuously traveling conveyer adapted to engage and propel a succession of cans to be operated upon, a reciprocatory carrier, a seaming head on said carrier, seaming devices mounted on said. seaming head and ada ted totravel around the axis of said head in an orbit corresponding with the seam to be formed, means for advancing sald carrier for a limited distance at the same speed and in the same direction as the can bodies are caused to travel by said convices synchronized with said reciprocating means. I

vcyer and for afterward retracting said car-. I

rier, means 'for engaging. said can bodies with the seaming devices, driving means for said seaming heal, and controlling means for said engaging means operated synchronously with said cinveyer andv carrier.

-4. The combination of a traveling coriveyer ada ted to engage and propel a series of can b ice to be seamed, means for con.-

tinuously actuating said conveyer in one direction only, a carrier, means for advancing said carrier forv a. limited distance at the same speed and in the same direction as the 

